Hilton Head, April 20: Akshay Bhatia and Sahil Theegala made impressive strides in the RBC Heritage golf tournament on the PGA Tour, both finishing in the top 25 with under-par rounds.
Bhatia climbed nine spots from his previous T-25 position to finish T-16, while Theegala improved from T-41 to T-25. Another Indian player, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, finished T-53 with a score of 68.
Matt Fitzpatrick, with a score of 70, faced tough competition from world number one Scottie Scheffler, who shot a 67. Scheffler, overcoming a three-shot deficit, pushed the match to a playoff at Harbour Town Links, both finishing at 18-under par.
In the playoff, Fitzpatrick, 31, stunned everyone with a 204-yard 4-iron shot. Although it veered slightly left, it was impressive enough to land 13 feet from the pin, giving him a birdie opportunity. Fitzpatrick sank the putt, defeating Scheffler and securing his second RBC Heritage title.
This victory marks Fitzpatrick’s fourth on the PGA Tour and his 13th worldwide, propelling him to a career-high world ranking of number 3.
Fitzpatrick has now won twice in the past month. After finishing as the runner-up at The Players Championship, he claimed the Valspar Championship. In his last four tournaments, he has earned nearly $8.3 million.
The playoff mirrored a similar situation from three years ago when Fitzpatrick defeated another American favorite, Jordan Spieth, at the RBC Heritage playoff. This time, the final hole of the tournament proved to be particularly challenging.
Scheffler, trailing by three shots with four holes remaining, managed to tie the score with two birdies, pushing the match to a playoff. He finished with a score of 4-under 67, aided by Fitzpatrick’s missed chip shot and a 20-foot par putt that resulted in his only bogey of the day, finishing with a score of 70.
However, Scheffler’s day ended with a poor swing on a 6-iron shot that left him 37 yards from the hole. He executed a brilliant pitch shot to within 8 feet but did not need to putt, as Fitzpatrick had already made the decisive putt.
This marks Scheffler’s second consecutive runner-up finish. At the Masters Tournament, he started the weekend 12 shots behind but finished just one shot behind Rory McIlroy. This time, after 36 holes, he was seven shots behind Fitzpatrick, finishing with scores of 64-67. Kim secured third place with a score of 68, marking his fourth entry into the top 10 this year.
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